The Rose Garden hosted an unusual decree this Tuesday, as former President Trump formally pardoned Gobble and Waddle, the official White House turkeys. The annual tradition took a sharp turn, however, when the ceremony became a platform for pointed remarks.
Joined by the First Lady, Trump didn’t simply offer clemency to the birds. He launched into a critique of his successor, declaring that the previous year’s turkey pardons, issued by Joe Biden, were officially “null and void.”
The basis for this claim centered around the use of an autopen – a device that mechanically replicates a signature – during Biden’s pardons. Trump asserted that the autopen’s use invalidated not only the turkey pardons, but a wider range of presidential actions taken during that time.
He specifically questioned the legitimacy of numerous pardons granted, with a notable exception. “Hunter’s was good,” Trump remarked, singling out a pardon for Hunter Biden as the single valid action amidst what he described as a chaotic situation.
The fate of Peach and Blossom, the turkeys pardoned by Biden last year, became a central point of the narrative. Trump revealed they had been discovered en route to processing – a euphemism for becoming Thanksgiving dinner – and that he had intervened to halt their journey.
“I have stopped that journey, and I am officially pardoning them,” Trump announced, ensuring the two birds would avoid the holiday table. He framed the act as a last-minute rescue, saving them “in the nick of time” from an unfortunate end.
The ceremony, steeped in tradition, unexpectedly transformed into a declaration challenging the validity of past presidential actions, all while two fortunate turkeys looked on.
